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Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize
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I was overjoyed this morning to wake up to the news that Barack Obama had won the Nobel Peace Prize. Some question whether it is too early in his Presidency to win such a prestigious award or whether he deserves it at all. I often look to the Washington Post readers’ comments to get some sense of how people are reacting. I realize that this is a self-selected population of readers – those who are very happy over this news, those who are angry, and those who just want to vent and be heard. A skeptical friend of mine told me a few years ago that all of the posts I was making on the NY Times website made absolutely no difference in the scheme of things, but more recent analyses of the impact of these blogs find they are having a substantial influence on policy making.
Many people don’t understand Obama’s style of diplomacy, especially after the prior US cowboy style of “Bring it on.” Bomb first and then look for evidence to support the decision to bomb. Obama’s “We will take your hand if you unclench your fist.” What comes to mind is the phrase, “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” I was interested in the origin of that phrase so looked it up in Wikipedia, which is not always a great source but in this case appears to have valid information.
Big Stick ideology, or Big Stick diplomacy, or Big Stick policy, is a form of hegemony and was the slogan describing U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt’s corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. The term originated from the phrase “Speak softly and carry a big stick." The idea of negotiating peacefully, simultaneously threatening with the “big stick”, or the military, ties in heavily with the idea of Realpolitik, which implies an amoral pursuit of political power that resembles Machiavellian ideals.[1] Roosevelt first used the phrase in a speech at the Minnesota State Fair on September 2, 1901, twelve days before the assassination of President William McKinley, which subsequently thrust him into the Presidency. Roosevelt referred to the phrase earlier (January 26, 1900) in a letter to Henry L. Sprague of the Union League Club, mentioning his liking of the phrase in a bout of happiness after forcing New York’s Republican committee to pull support away from a corrupt financial adviser. The term comes from a West African proverb, and, at the time, was evidence of Roosevelt’s “prolific” reading habits.[2][3] Roosevelt described his style of foreign policy as “the exercise of intelligent forethought and of decisive action sufficiently far in advance of any likely crisis.” [4] (Retrieved October 9, 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Stick_ideology)
Theodore Roosevelt was the first of only three sitting US presidents to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. As I have watched and read about Obama’s diplomatic behavior here at home and abroad over these 10 months, I have admired his use of this “big stick ideology.” Some believe the use of this approach is a sign of weakness, but others, including me, believe that this diplomatic style is the only way to make more lasting changes.
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